Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)

Child poverty is rising. It is incredible to think that, in 2025, in one of the richest countries in the world, we have a situation whereby this generation is so much more worse off than the previous. I think of my own parents who were born in the 1960s. When they grew up, they had very little but they were never hungry. That was 60 years ago. There are serious questions, and the Government needs to have a serious look at itself, when right now today the basics and guarantees in life in Ireland do not exist any more, right down to children being hungry. It is the greatest shame of all. We hear a lot about the child poverty and well-being office in the Department of the Taoiseach when we speak about child poverty. It has been in place since 2023 but poverty is rising. This needs to be looked at again because from my read of it, it is not achieving what it should.

I listened to the Minister speak about child poverty targets. Targets are not new and missing targets is not new either. I was reminded of working on social protection policy for my party from 2016 to 2020. At the time, Regina Doherty was the Minister. By 2017, the Government realised and acknowledged it would not meet its 2020 target, which was to lift one third of children out of poverty. Targets are set and targets are missed.

As the Minister for Social Protection is here, I want to use the time I have to raise several issues. We know when it comes to the SILC data, the at risk of poverty data, the deprivation rate and the consistent poverty rate, the increases are a lot of the time with regard to one-parent families and our disabled citizens. The cost of disability payment has been promised and we have report after report. It is like the Government does reports that tell it we need a cost of disability payment but then nothing happens. Similarly on one-parent family payments, at least three times we have published proposals on establishing a child maintenance service similar to what is in place in the North of Ireland. Research has proved that, where child maintenance is paid, it can play a role in lifting children out of poverty. It needs to be looked at.

With regard to community welfare officers, the Minister will remember we tabled a motion and tried everything to stop the Government's plan to centralise community welfare officers. Last week, a gentleman came to my office whose disability allowance had been taken off him. We have been over and back and the decision is being appealed. It is an absolute nightmare. The medical assessor says he can work but his GP, who knows him best, categorically states he cannot work. I know this gentleman. He has worked since he was about 15. If he could work, he would work. He would love to work. He waited seven years for thyroid surgery in UHG, which was scheduled for last Sunday. He was going to cancel it because he did not have the money to get to the hospital. I could not get the CWO. I had no number or name. I rang the national line, which could not put me through. It was an absolute rigmarole. In the end, he got €75, he got in and he got his surgery. That was good but it was a horrible experience for him. The CWOs should be in the community where they know Johnny and Mary and can assess the situation there and then. The system is horrendous and it is really failing people.

This man is one of several cases I now have where disability allowance has been removed from a person on a decision by a medical assessor who has never met that person and has never seen him or her but decides that person is able to work when that is clearly not the case. I do not know whether it is to reduce the money paid out on disability allowance. That man was in my office again this week. He was crying because he would not be able to feed his children after tomorrow. The last place he will go is back to the CWO after the horrendous experience. This is a pity because the vast majority of CWOs are brilliant but this is where we are at.

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